Advanced Algebra: The Class that Started it All… by Kiarra

Advanced Algebra: The Class that Started it All… by Kiarra - July 2016 Scholarship Essay

It was the start of another school year; I had completed my freshman year of high school with no complications. Now it was time for sophomore year to begin. At the beginning of the year my counselor came to my homeroom class to hand out all the new schedules. I was so nervous about what classes I was going to take this year, while reading the schedule I saw that I was going to be taking Advanced Algebra and Accelerated Geometry.
I was horrible at math I had no idea why my counselor had put me in such a rigorous course; I was determined to change my schedule. The school day started whining down and it was now time for me to go to my Advanced Algebra/ Accelerated Geometry class. As I walked into the class I saw that most of my close friends were also taking the class, which eased my nerves. When the teacher came into the class she introduced herself and I realized that she was my homeroom teacher from freshmen year, Ms. Pingali. I became so ecstatic; she was one of my favorite teachers from freshmen year. Although I had my favorite teacher teaching me this subject, and all my friends, I was still worried that I would not be able to get through the work that was assigned for this course.
The next couple of weeks school went smooth sailing, the math class wasn’t as hard as I thought it was going to be. I was learning and understanding everything Ms. Pingali was teaching, I was starting to believe that I could possibly be good at math. Soon this all came to an end. As I was heading to Ms. Pingali’s class I saw that she wasn’t there and we had a substitute. I took my seat and started a conversation with my friends, until my counselor and the academy leader walked in. They said that they had some important information to tell use. We all settled down and listened; as they begin to tell the news I felt a sudden drop in my stomach. I felt as though I was just fit by a dodge ball. My Counselor explained to us that Ms. Pingali was in the hospital and she had been diagnosed with Cancer. She wasn’t going to be able to return to school to finish out the school year, so there was a replacement teacher for her.

“Maybe it’s a man.”
“No, I bet it’s a lady.”
“I hope they are not mean.”
“I hope they bring us snacks.”
Everyone was so uncertain of who the new teacher was going to be, all I was hoping for that they are as good of a teacher as Ms.Pingali.
The teacher had walked into the class she was tall, brown skin, and she had medium length black hair. She was wearing a red shirt and black bottoms, with black sandals on. The room became extremely silent and the teacher introduced herself as Professor Williams. I couldn’t believe that we were going to be taught math by a college professor, I really didn’t believe that I was going to pass Advanced Algebra/ Accelerated geometry class now. I became real discouraged.
As the semester went on and Professor William began to teach us, I realized that she didn’t teach like any other teacher that I had ever had before. She explained math concepts in ways no one had explained them to me before and I understood. On the very first test that we took that was administered by her I made the highest score in the class. I was so excited, everyone was surprised and shocked they didn’t believe that the score was real. Professor Williams supported me she explained that I took great notes in class, and I came to tutorial every day.
Being placed in Advanced Algebra/Accelerated Geometry class was actually a real blessing for me. This class helped me gain confidence in my math skills. I realized that I could do anything I put my mind to and that everything happens for a reason. There were many classes throughout high school that I learned from but Advanced Algebra/ Accelerated Geometry was the class that taught me more than what was in the curriculum.